WHY ARE THERE STILL NATIONS IN THE NEW JERUSALEM?
Common Objections Answered — Chapter 47
TEXT B4 TRADITION
READ FIRST. CONCLUDE LATER.
1. If the Final Judgment Is Over, Why Are There Still Nations?
Revelation 21 describes a new heaven and a new earth.
The first heaven and earth have passed away. Death, mourning, crying, and pain are gone. God dwells with His people.
Then John makes a surprising statement:
Revelation 21:24
“By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.”
Why are there still nations?
Why are there still kings?
And why do they bring their glory into the New Jerusalem?
Does this mean earthly governments continue after the final judgment?
Are there people living outside the city who must travel into it?
Or is John using familiar Old Testament language to describe the complete fulfillment of God's promises?
These questions deserve careful examination.
We must begin with what John actually describes, not with what we expect the future to look like.
2. Where Does This Vision Fit in Revelation?
Before interpreting the nations and kings, we must examine the setting.
Revelation 20:11–15 — The Final Judgment
John sees the great white throne.
The dead stand before the throne and are judged.
Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire.
Anyone whose name is not found in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire.
John calls this the second death.
Revelation 21:1–4 — The New Creation
John then sees a new heaven and a new earth.
The New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God.
A loud voice announces that God's dwelling place is with humanity.
God will wipe away every tear.
Death will be no more.
Neither mourning, crying, nor pain will remain.
Revelation 21:5 — Everything Made New
God declares:
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
These statements establish the setting for the description of the holy city.
John is not merely describing a better version of the present world.
He is describing the final removal of death and the full realization of God's dwelling with His people.
The nations and kings of Revelation 21:24 appear within this vision of the new creation.
That must guide our interpretation.
3. What Does John Actually Say About the Nations?
Revelation 21:22–27
John says several things about the New Jerusalem.
There is no temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or moon to shine upon it because God's glory gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Then John says:
“By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” (Verse 24)
He continues:
“And its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.” (Verse 25)
Then:
“They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.” (Verse 26)
Finally:
“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Verse 27)
Notice the progression.
The nations walk by the city's light.
The kings bring their glory into it.
The gates remain open.
The glory and honor of the nations enter.
But nothing unclean enters.
Only those written in the Lamb's book of life may enter.
John describes the nations enjoying the light of God's presence, but he does not describe unbelieving nations continuing in rebellion within the new creation.
The final statement places an important limit on how we understand the earlier verses.
4. Where Did John Get This Picture?
The answer is found largely in Isaiah 60.
This is one of the most important Old Testament passages for understanding Revelation 21.
Isaiah describes the future glory of Zion.
Isaiah 60:1–3
God's light rises upon Zion.
Nations come to its light.
Kings come to the brightness of its rising.
Isaiah 60:5
The wealth of the nations comes to Zion.
Isaiah 60:11
Its gates remain open continually so that the wealth of the nations may be brought in, with their kings led in procession.
Isaiah 60:18
Violence and destruction are no longer heard in the land.
Isaiah 60:19–20
The LORD becomes Zion's everlasting light.
Now compare Isaiah with Revelation.
Isaiah 60Revelation 21Nations come to Zion's light (v. 3).Nations walk by the city's light (v. 24).Kings come to its brightness (v. 3).Kings bring their glory into it (v. 24).The wealth of nations comes in (vv. 5, 11).The glory and honor of nations come in (v. 26).The gates remain open (v. 11).The gates are never shut (v. 25).The LORD is its everlasting light (vv. 19–20).God and the Lamb illuminate the city (v. 23).Violence and destruction cease (v. 18).Death, mourning, and pain are removed (21:4).
These similarities are too extensive to ignore.
John is drawing upon Isaiah's description of Zion.
But notice what John does.
Isaiah describes Zion's glory using the familiar language of Jerusalem, nations, kings, wealth, and open gates.
John takes that language and places it within his vision of the new heaven and new earth.
The promises are not abandoned.
They reach their final expression in God's dwelling with His redeemed people.
The language of nations bringing glory into the city comes from an earlier prophetic picture of the nations acknowledging God's glory.
This is a much stronger basis for interpretation than simply declaring that Revelation is symbolic.
5. Does the New Jerusalem Represent a Real City or God's Redeemed People?
We should examine how John introduces the city.
Revelation 21:2
John sees the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
It is prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:9–10
An angel says:
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
Then the angel shows John the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
This is significant.
John does not merely say the city contains the bride.
He introduces the bride and then shows the city.
The imagery connects the New Jerusalem closely with God's redeemed people.
Compare Revelation 19:7–8, where the bride is prepared for the marriage of the Lamb.
But we should not conclude too quickly that the New Jerusalem is only a symbol for people and has no connection with their future dwelling place.
Revelation 21:3 emphasizes that God will dwell with His people.
The city imagery communicates both the identity of God's redeemed people and the reality of their fellowship with Him.
The city is also described with twelve gates bearing the names of Israel's tribes and twelve foundations bearing the names of the Lamb's apostles (Revelation 21:12–14).
The imagery brings together the history of God's promises and their fulfillment through Christ.
John's central concern is not to provide architectural plans. It is to describe the holiness, security, beauty, and fellowship of God's people in His presence.
6. What Does the Word “Nations” Mean?
The Greek word commonly translated nations is ethnē.
Depending upon the context, it can refer to nations, peoples, or Gentiles.
It does not always mean a modern nation-state with a government, borders, and political institutions.
Consider how Revelation uses the language elsewhere.
Revelation 5:9
The Lamb has redeemed people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
Revelation 7:9
John sees a great multitude that no one can number.
They come from every nation, tribe, people, and language.
They stand before the throne and before the Lamb.
These passages establish that God's redemption reaches people from every part of humanity.
Now return to Revelation 21:24.
The nations walk by the city's light.
Does this mean that modern political nations continue to operate in the eternal state?
John does not say.
Does it mean that people from the nations share in God's final blessings?
That fits the language and the larger message of Revelation.
But we should not go beyond the text.
John does not explain whether cultural or ethnic distinctions continue in precisely their present forms.
Nor does he say that all distinctions disappear.
The passage celebrates the inclusion of the nations in God's final blessings. It does not provide a description of future political boundaries or governments.
7. Why Are Kings Bringing Their Glory Into the City?
This is another important question.
In the present world, kings and rulers often seek glory for themselves.
They build monuments, gather wealth, and exercise power.
But Isaiah 60 describes kings bringing their wealth and honor to Zion.
Revelation 21 uses the same picture.
The kings bring their glory into the New Jerusalem.
What does that communicate?
At the very least, the rulers of the earth are no longer pictured as competing against God's glory.
Instead, their glory is brought into the place illuminated by God and the Lamb.
Compare Revelation 11:15:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
And Revelation 15:4:
“All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
These passages describe the universal recognition of God's reign.
But we should make an important distinction.
Revelation 21:24 does not explicitly say that the kings continue to exercise political authority in the new creation.
Neither does it explicitly say that every form of authority or distinction disappears.
The emphasis is upon the glory of the nations being brought into God's presence.
The picture is one of honor directed toward God rather than independent human greatness.
The kings are not described as rivals to the Lamb. Their glory is brought into the light of His city.
8. Why Are the Gates Never Shut?
Revelation 21:25
John says:
“And its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.”
In the ancient world, city gates were shut for protection.
An open gate could leave a city vulnerable to attack.
But John describes a city whose gates never need to close.
Why?
The surrounding passage emphasizes the absence of darkness and uncleanness.
Isaiah 60:11 provides the earlier image of gates remaining open so that the nations may bring their glory into Zion.
John develops that picture within the final new creation.
The open gates communicate security and unrestricted access for those who belong to the Lamb.
But does this mean people must continually travel from distant countries into a city surrounded by ordinary territory?
John does not explain the geography that way.
The imagery emphasizes that God's redeemed people are secure and that nothing prevents their fellowship with Him.
The gates remain open because the holy city is no longer threatened by the powers that once opposed God.
That is the central meaning of the picture.
9. Why Do the Nations Still Need Healing?
Revelation 22:1–2
John describes the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb.
On either side of the river stands the tree of life.
Then he says:
“The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
This raises a natural question.
If death and pain are gone, why do the nations need healing?
Does sickness continue in the new creation?
We must examine the context.
Revelation 21:4
Death, mourning, crying, and pain have passed away.
Revelation 22:3
There is no longer any curse.
These statements make it difficult to understand the healing leaves as treatment for continuing disease or suffering.
Now compare Ezekiel 47:12.
Ezekiel describes trees growing beside the river flowing from the temple.
Their fruit provides food, and their leaves are for healing.
John draws upon this earlier picture of life flowing from God's presence.
The healing of the nations therefore fits the larger promise of complete restoration.
The nations that once suffered under sin, death, violence, and corruption now share in the life God provides.
The imagery does not require us to imagine sickness continuing forever so that healing can continue forever.
The tree's healing leaves portray the fullness of life and restoration that come from God.
The nations are no longer under the curse.
They enjoy the blessings of the Lamb.
10. Who Are the People Outside the City?
Now we reach one of the more difficult questions.
Revelation 22:14–15
John speaks of those who have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
Then he says:
“Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
Who are these people outside?
Does this mean lost people continue living in ordinary communities beyond the city walls after the final judgment?
We must compare the passage with what John has already described.
Revelation 20:11–15
The final judgment takes place.
Those not found in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8
The wicked are assigned to the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which John calls the second death.
Revelation 21:27
Nothing unclean enters the New Jerusalem.
Only those written in the Lamb's book of life may enter.
These passages establish a contrast between those who belong to the Lamb and those excluded from His eternal blessings.
Therefore, we should not automatically interpret outside as a description of ordinary political communities existing beyond the city after the final judgment.
The language can express exclusion from the holy city and the life found there.
We should also remember that Revelation 22:6–21 returns to direct warnings and invitations addressed to the book's readers.
John is not necessarily providing a new chronological description of events after the final judgment.
The contrast is between those who have access to the tree of life and those excluded because of their rebellion against God.
That is the central point.
11. Does This Mean Every Person Will Eventually Be Saved?
Some readers may ask another question.
If the nations walk by the city's light and the tree's leaves heal the nations, does that mean every individual will ultimately enter the New Jerusalem?
The text does not establish that conclusion.
Revelation 21:27 specifically limits entry to those written in the Lamb's book of life.
Revelation 20:15 describes the judgment of those whose names are not found in that book.
Revelation 22:15 continues to distinguish those who belong to the city from those excluded.
The language of the nations receiving blessing does not erase those warnings.
Revelation celebrates the great multitude redeemed from every nation.
But people from every nation does not necessarily mean every person in every nation.
We must preserve that distinction.
The universal reach of the gospel does not, by itself, establish the universal salvation of every individual.
12. Does Revelation 21 Describe a Future Thousand-Year Kingdom?
This is important because the nations and kings are sometimes connected with discussions of the millennium.
Revelation 20:1–6 describes the thousand years.
Later in the chapter, Satan is released, defeated, and thrown into the lake of fire.
Then John describes the great white throne judgment.
Revelation 21 opens with the new heaven and new earth.
Within the sequence of John's visions, the New Jerusalem appears after the final judgment.
Some interpreters believe Revelation 20 describes a future literal thousand-year kingdom before the final new creation.
Others understand the thousand years symbolically as Christ's present reign, with the final judgment followed by the new creation.
But notice something important.
Both interpretations can recognize that Revelation 21–22 describes the final perfected order.
The presence of nations and kings in Revelation 21:24 does not, by itself, establish that the passage describes an earlier millennial kingdom.
The passage does not mention a thousand years.
Nor does it describe the continuing rebellion and death associated with the present fallen world.
Instead, John has already announced that death is gone and the curse is removed.
The nations bringing their glory into the New Jerusalem must be interpreted within the vision of the final new creation, not automatically moved backward into a proposed millennial period.
13. What Does This Tell Us About God's Promise to Abraham?
God promised Abraham that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him.
Genesis 12:3
“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
That promise reaches beyond Abraham's physical descendants.
The New Testament explains how the blessing comes through Christ.
Galatians 3:8
Paul says Scripture announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham:
“In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
Galatians 3:14
The blessing of Abraham comes to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:29
Those who belong to Christ are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to promise.
Now consider Revelation 21–22.
The nations walk by God's light.
Their glory and honor are brought into the holy city.
The tree of life provides healing for the nations.
God and the Lamb dwell with His redeemed people.
The connection is significant.
The promise to bless the nations finds its final expression in the life and fellowship of the new creation.
But we should not claim that Revelation 21:24 alone explains every detail of God's covenant with Abraham.
Rather, it presents the glorious outcome of God's saving purpose reaching people from the nations.
The blessing promised through Abraham reaches its fulfillment through Jesus Christ and extends to redeemed people from every nation.
14. What Does Scripture Actually Establish?
Let us separate the statements of Scripture from conclusions that require interpretation.
The final judgment is described before the vision of the new heaven and new earth.
Revelation 20:11–21:1.
Death, mourning, crying, and pain are removed.
Revelation 21:4.
God and the Lamb are the temple and light of the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:22–23.
The nations walk by the city's light.
Revelation 21:24.
The kings bring their glory into it.
Revelation 21:24.
The city's gates are never shut.
Revelation 21:25.
Nothing unclean enters the city.
Revelation 21:27.
The tree of life provides healing for the nations.
Revelation 22:2.
There is no longer any curse.
Revelation 22:3.
Those who belong to the Lamb have access to the city and the tree of life.
Revelation 21:27; 22:14.
Now consider what the text does not explicitly explain.
It does not describe the political structure of the new creation.
It does not say that modern national governments continue unchanged.
It does not explain whether ethnic and cultural distinctions remain in their present forms.
It does not say that the healing leaves treat continuing sickness after the curse is removed.
It does not establish that unbelieving nations live outside the city after the final judgment.
And it does not describe the nations bringing their glory into the city as part of a thousand-year earthly kingdom.
Those conclusions cannot be established simply by pointing to the words nations and kings.
We must read those words in their context.
15. Questions Worth Asking
Before deciding what Revelation 21:24 means, consider these questions.
What has already happened in Revelation 20 before John sees the New Jerusalem?
Why does John say death and pain are gone before describing the nations and kings?
How closely does Revelation 21 follow the language of Isaiah 60?
Does the word nations necessarily mean modern political states?
Does bringing glory into the city require the continuation of earthly governments?
Why are the gates never shut?
How can the nations need healing when the curse has been removed?
Does the description of those outside require us to imagine ordinary communities of lost people living beyond the city walls?
Does Revelation 21:24 actually mention a thousand-year kingdom?
Are we interpreting John's vision from its own context and Old Testament background, or bringing assumptions about the future into the passage?
These questions help us distinguish what John describes from what we may assume.
Conclusion — Why Are There Still Nations in the New Jerusalem?
John's vision of the New Jerusalem is not a description of a world still struggling under the curse of sin and death.
The final judgment has been described.
Death has been removed.
The curse is gone.
God dwells with His people.
Within that setting, John describes the nations walking by the city's light and the kings bringing their glory into it.
The language comes directly from the Old Testament picture of Zion's glory, especially Isaiah 60.
John uses that imagery to portray the nations sharing in the blessings of God's final kingdom.
The picture does not require us to imagine continuing political rivalry, separate systems of salvation, or unbelieving nations living outside the city after the final judgment.
Nor does it require us to believe that every cultural or national distinction disappears.
John simply does not explain those details.
What he does show is a redeemed people drawn from the nations, enjoying the light, life, holiness, and presence of God and the Lamb.
The kings bring their glory into the city because all glory belongs under God's reign.
The gates remain open because the city is secure.
The tree provides healing because the nations share in God's complete restoration.
And nothing unclean enters because the curse has been removed.
The final hope of God's people is not that one earthly nation will rule over all the others.
It is that God and the Lamb will dwell forever with their redeemed people in the new creation.
That is the picture John gives us.
READ FIRST. CONCLUDE LATER.
Continue Exploring Scripture
Must Revelation Be Read as One Continuous Timeline?
Does the order of John's visions require every event to happen in the same chronological sequence?
https://text-b4-tradition.com/one-continuous-timeline
Does God Have Two Separate Peoples—Israel and the Church?
What does Scripture teach about the promises shared by Jewish and Gentile believers?
https://text-b4-tradition.com/two-separate-peoples
Did God Keep His Land Promise to Israel?
How do the promises to Abraham relate to the inheritance described in the New Testament?
https://text-b4-tradition.com/did-god-keep-his-land-promise
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